Pitch Episode 29: White Fox
#35 of Pitch
You know, I was always happy being an only child. I never had to share a room, toys, friends, or family. That all changed the moment Danger introduced himself to Mom and Dad. I expected them to ground me again, or at the very least, scold me. What they did was a hundred times worse. They moved him into my room.
I suggested Danger live with mom since she kept an extra room for me anyway, but Dad wouldn't have it. Danger himself tried to make a case for why he should have been on his own. He told a story of being a changed rabbit too altered to possibly go back to normal life. He wanted to move out. He wanted to start fresh, but when he told his story about enduring the hells of Scribe, our parents refused to let him go. Don't get me wrong, what Danger went through was terrible, but I didn't ask for a brother.
That's how they treated him. Like he was my long lost sibling. They treated us like twins.
And that wasn't the worst of it. He got a new cellphone, new clothes, mom even offered to buy him a puppy. He didn't have to go to school or get a job. What shocked me the most was dad let him work for Beth again. I was trying to become a member of The Ring while sharing a room with a magician who shared my face. It wasn't enough that he looked like me, knew all of my secrets, and had a better hairstyle. I should have tried black fur; it was a good look. He had to put himself in opposition to me. And don't get me started on the bunk beds.
Initially, I was worried Danger would do something, and people would think it was me. That wasn't an issue at all. Everyone knew he was a different person. Maybe I was afraid they'd think he was better. It was hard trying not to compete with someone who was me, regardless of variety.
Regardless, people were so used to the otherworldly things spells were capable of that my suddenly having a doppelganger was nothing. Mom and Dad knew about Danger. Wes and Velmer knew about Danger. Even BJ and her people knew about him. I was still hiding him from Nerf, though. He knew about Danger, but I did my best to keep them far away from one another. With The Ring's no magic rule, I thought it best to avoid testing my luck. Unfortunately, it only made the dynamic between Danger and me worse.
"Where are you going?" My twin asked while I stood in our shared closet getting dressed.
"Out," I said.
"Where?" He questioned further.
"I don't think it matters," I said as I turned around.
In what world did it make sense for him to have the top bunk? I guess he was technically a year older than me, but still.
"I'm going out with Beth tonight," he said.
"Cool," I replied sarcastically.
I was sending every physical cue that I could muster. It was all in the effort to make my disinterest clear.
"I thought you might want to go with us," he offered.
"No thanks, I have plans," I answered as I went for the door.
"Suit yourself," he said with an exhausted sigh as if I somehow disappointed him.
Dad wasn't home, so it was just Danger and me alone for a while. I was happy to get out of the house, but I was hesitant about leaving him in our room unsupervised. When I left the house, Velmer was outside waiting for me. At least, I think he was waiting for me. He could have been there for Danger. The one good thing about my twin using magic was I never had to worry about Wes being interested in him. Velmer, on the other hand, thought it was cool having two of me around.
"I get it, he's just like you, but everyone else likes him, why don't you," my Goblin friend asked as we made way for town.
"Because he's nothing like me, and everyone likes him. I don't want to talk about Danger right now anyway," I said as I fixed my bow tie.
"Where are we going," Velmer asked.
"Someone from The Ring called and requested me for an assignment."
"So, this is Ring business?"
"Yea."
"Then I'm out," he said.
He stopped walking and stood in place.
"Why?" I asked as I turned around to find that he was a few paces behind me.
"I know they mean well, but sometimes the people that need help 'really' need help," he said.
"Its just a woman who needs an escort to a party," I explained.
It's the reason I was wearing a tuxedo instead of my usual look.
"Sure, but this woman could be a hundred years old, or a felon. You never know what they leave out until it's too late," he argued.
"But it's a party, she could breathe fire, but it's just for one night, and at a party," I added, but Velmer wouldn't budge.
"Maybe next time," he said before turning to leave me.
"Velmer," I called out as he walked away.
As a new member of The Ring, I could receive job requests from anyone on the registry, including Nerf. Still, I didn't have to do anything I didn't want to. Velmer made it clear, until I was a full member, accepting jobs was a good way to show I was serious. The request I got that night came from a member by the name of Haru. She was a Huli jing, a special kind of creature with the ability to look human or shapeshift into a fox. She was vague about what she wanted. I knew she needed an escort to some kind of party, but that was about it. I planned to have Velmer with me as back up in case things were more than they seemed, but after he left, I had to pick up Haru on my own.
Haru wasn't a local; she arrived in town that night. I had to meet her at a hotel around 8:30. I sat in the lobby and waited for her. I didn't know if she had a room, or if she needed to check-in. All she said was she would be at the hotel. I waited for maybe 10 to 15 minutes before I grew anxious. The longer it took her to show up, the more I felt I made a mistake somehow. The last thing I needed was to screw up my first job. After another 5 minutes, my patients broke, and I had to ask the front desk if they saw Haru. They hadn't seen or heard of her.
I was beginning to scratch my head over the situation when from the corner of my eye, I noticed the most peculiar thing. There was a white fox outside the front entrance. The manager was in the middle of telling me I'd have to leave if I didn't get a room soon, so I left. I walked outside, and the fox was gone. Turning around to go back inside, I jumped when I finally found Haru. She was a young Asian woman wearing a purple flowing kimono dress. She stood still as a statue, but the wind made the black silk straps of her dress twirl in the wind.
"You must be Haru?" I asked.
"And you must be Pitch," she said softly.